We want to wish the best of luck to Coach Jenna in this weekend’s Wodapalooza competition. She is competing with two other top-level teen athletes in the RX division (against the adults!) in one of the premier CrossFit events during the competition season. Her team name is “Young & Free Only 17”
The event will also feature a new friend to the gym, Tola. He has been working out at the Cove this past month and will be competing with fellow CrossFit stars Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson and Khan Porter. Their team is “King BK & Friends”.
We are excited to announce that we are starting our next round of CrosFit Kids at the Cove this coming Saturday. The last round of these classes was a great success, as we had so many kids not only get stronger and fitter but finding a new love for being active. It was a program filled with smiles and PR’s.
We are so proud of this program and the effect it is having on our little Covies!
Here are some details about the upcoming session.
Training across all fitness domains (strength, power, endurance, agility, mobility, and more)
Thorough instruction on technique & progressions for all levels of athlete
Fun, friendly & inclusive environment
Expert training from a certified L-1 Coach (Coach Tracy)
One-hour classes over a period of six weeks
The program starts on Saturday, January 7th
We have two classes depending on the age and athletic abilities of the athletes
Saturday’s at 1:30 PM (Ages 5-8)
Focused on the basic foundations of functional movements in a fun environment. We are developing a love of fitness while building a physical literacy that we aren’t seeing today.
Saturday at 3:00 PM (Ages 9-12)
Building on our foundational movements (push, pull, squat, etc), we look to teach the more advanced movements we see in our adult classes. Our goal is to eventually develop the skills, knowledge in maturity in these young athletes who can participate in regular CrossFit classes.
We hope everyone has a safe and wonderful start to the New Year! We’re excited to head into 2023 with such an amazing community and want to thank you all for being part of it. We’ve got exciting things planned for this year in all things “Cove”. From the fun (Anniversary Bash, socials and more) to the fitness (Open, goal setting, etc.), we’ll have you covered!
Since most of us like to start the year with resolutions, we’d love for you to think about one for the gym. NOT related to performance (don’t worry… more to come on that) but tied to our connections. The things that make this place so great. Perhaps it’s coming a different class hour to meet new people. Or coming to a social event you haven’t attended. Or it’s committed to fist-bump everyone in your class after the WOD ends. Or maybe it’s about your chalk in the bucket 😉
Let’s just say this might be a question of the day next year!
The bottom line is that it is the PEOPLE that make this place so great. And we want 2023 to only further the bonds that exist here. #coverollsdeep #noplacelikecove
For tomorrow’s strength session, we are excited to add a new item to our repertoire, the bench press. This has been a movement that was originally frowned upon in the CrossFit community as it wasn’t considered a very functional movements (any exercise down lying down doesn’t seem valid in the real world) but over the years we have seen the value of this movement. It has even gotten to the point where it is being tested by the top CrossFit athletes in competition.
CrossFit has focused very much on overhead movements such as jerks and overhead squats as they lead to the development of the midline (core strength) and mobility. The bench press allows us to balance our vertical pressing with horizontal pressing. Programmed and taught correctly, the bench press will allow you to develop scapular control which is so important in the shoulder as well as strength gains in all the pressing muscles.
And finally, which should not be underestimated but it’s just plain fun. There is nothing like a group of athletes gathering around a bench, chatting it up while they are working to develop fitness for a lifetime.
This Saturday, we will be having our traditional “12 Days of CrossFit” workout. It’s like any other workout but with a holiday flare. We will have a single class on Saturday at 9 AM and expect it to be a big community class with multiple heats for the workout.
We are also going to make it a potluck breakfast event after, so we encourage you if possible to bring something to share with your fellow Covies. After finishing the workout, we encourage you to come to hang out with your fellow athletes and spread holiday cheer with one another.
The “12 Days of Christmas wod is executed like the song “The 12 Days of Christmas,” completing each exercise in ascending order then work back down to 1, adding one exercise per round.
1 Burpee
2 Toes-to-Bar
3 Kettlebell Swings 53#/35#
4 Hang Cleans #95#/65#
5 Push Press 95#/65#
6 Front Squats 95#/65#
7 Push Ups
8 Sit Ups
9 Wall Balls 20#/14#
10 Box Jumps
11 Pull Ups
12 HSPU
We know the holidays are about family and we like to think that part of your family is here at the Cove.
And finally, below are our hours for the upcoming holidays.
Although Clash at the Cove is our favorite competition, another great one is the Battle of Baltimore at CrossFit Federal Hill. Geo Rockwell runs a fantastic event and this year they are doing three-person mixed gender. This year they are doing an RX, scaled, and masters (35+) division. You can find out more information here.
Inspired by the classic CrossFit workout Fight Gone Bad, we have Cove Gone Bad. The workout consists of 5 different stations of 2 minute AMRAP workouts. Each station represents 20% of the scoring for the entire workout and the overall scoring of this event will be determined by the cumulative ranking of each station.
The clock does not stop or reset in between stations, so you can transition to the next station at any point but you may not begin working at the next station until both athletes and the judges are present at that station.
Stations One: Pull Ups and Jumping Pull ups
RX: Pull Ups
Working within a two minute window, both athletes will look to accumulate as many pull ups possible. One athlete is working at a time. We are looking for the rep to start with arms fully extended with the feet off of the ground. The rep is completed with the chin rising above the level of the pull up bar. Any sort of grip can be used as long as the other standards above are met. Reps can be divided any way the team deems appropriate.
FX: Jumping Pull Ups
Working within a two minute window, both athletes will look to accumulate as many jumping pull ups possible. The bar will be set up so it is at least 6 inches above the top of the athlete’s head when the athlete is standing tall. At the bottom, the arms must be fully extended. Overhand, underhand or mixed grip are all permitted. At the top, the chin must break the horizontal plane of the bar.
Reps can be divided any way the team deems appropriate.
Station: Two: Dballs over the shoulder
The Dball starts on the ground and is lifted over the top of either shoulder. The ball must go over the top of the shoulder and fall behind the athlete. The ball must be picked up from the ground and can not be bounced into the next rep. It does not matter which shoulder the ball goes over.
Reps can be divided any way the team deems appropriate.
RX Male: 100
RX Female: 70
FX Male: 70
FX Female:50
Youth: TBD
Station Three: Rowing
Athletes are looking to accumulate as many calories inside the working window. Both athletes and judge must be present at the start of the workout. Athletes are allowed to switch as many times as they wish on the rower. The can only work within the 2 minute window and may not pull on the handles at any point once the period ends. Doing so will result in a 2 calorie penalty.
Stations Four: GHD or Sit ups
RX: GHD Sit ups
The rep starts with both hands touching foot pads. The athletes will recline backwards to a position where one or both hands will touch the designated wall ball behind the athlete. From there the athlete can return back to the starting position to complete the rep.
FX: Sit ups
An ab-mat will be placed just behind the athlete and he/she must keep the soles of feet together. The rep begins with the shoulders on the ground behind the athlete and the hands touching the ground overhead. From there, the athlete will change direction bringing the hands to the toes of the feet with the shoulders moving past the hip.
Reps can be divided any way the team deems appropriate.
Station Five: Dumbbell Snatches
The rep begins with both heads of the dumbbell resting on the ground. The dumbbell must be lifted in one continuous motion (no clean and jerks allowed) to an overhead position. The reps is credited when the dumbbell is locked out overhead with the hips, knees, and arm fully extended directly overhead of slightly behind the athlete.
Athletes are required to switch arms with each rep and can do so once the previous rep has been completed.
Deliberate bouncing is not allowed.
Reps can be divided any way the team deems appropriate.
Teams will face a series of progressively heavier pre-loaded barbells, cleaning each bar once successfully before ascending the ladder to the next bar. You can power clean or squat clean the bar, the only requirement is the clean starts with the weight on the floor and finishes with the barbell in the front-rack position. The barbell must come up to the shoulders, with the hips and knees fully extended and the elbows in front of the bar. A muscle clean, power clean, split clean, or squat clean may be used, as long as the barbell comes up to the rack position on the shoulders.
At 3-2-1 go! both athletes will have 30 seconds to complete a successful lift. There will be a 10 second transition to allow the team to move to the next pre-weighted barbells. You may not touch the barbell during the 10-second transition. Each athlete will have their own barbell and will work side by side with their partner until one can no longer complete a successful lift. The remaining partner will continue up the ladder until he/she can no longer complete a successful lift.
Athletes will be scored by the combined TOTAL weight of the last successful lift by each partner on the ladder.
If one or both athletes on the team completes the ladder, both athletes immediately proceed to the ski erg at the end of the ladder for max meters inside a :30 second window.
For those of you experiencing the holidays at the Cove this year for the first time, our annual row (or bike/run/walk/ski) challenge is one of the most galvanizing things we do here – and one of the best ways to stay dialed into your fitness when surrounded by temptation. And this year, we continue to honor our “Forever Covie”, Terry Street.
As many of you know, we lost Terry just over a year ago. For those of you who never got to meet this incredible man, this guy LOVED to row. He was famous for coming in daily between Thanksgiving and Christmas to accumulate meters, usually rowing 10K at a time. He went far above the 100,000 challenge each year, as it was his time to socialize, connect AND work on his fitness.
This year we honor him asking for a $10 “entry fee” which will be 100% donated to a charity of his daughter’s choosing in his name. And with Terry being an Army veteran and volunteer firefighter, we know whatever she chooses will resonate with our amazing community full of people who serve is incredible ways.
Here’s how it works: You have from Thanksgiving until December 31st to accumulate 100,000M on the Erg (rower) or equivalent meters running, walking or on the bike.
What do I need to do to sign up? Not much! Just slap your name on the front Whiteboard under 100,000 Meter Street Challenge (it will be posted by 9:30am tomorrow) or put your name in the comments here and you are in! We will bill your account for the $10 donation and aggregate funds to give as one donation. If you do not want to do the challenge but still want to donate, just let us know!
In terms of tracking the meters, well, you do that on your own. It is a healthy amount of meters per day (an average of 2,702 per day). You can chip in any increments you’d like. Any rowing we do in WODs or warm-ups counts to your total. Your only requirement is to update your total meters on the whiteboard as you make progress. If there is rowing in a class and you have come to get some meters in… sorry but the class takes precedence. Of course, if there’s a rower open, you are welcome to hop on!
Why are doing this? Because strength doesn’t come from what you can do. Strength comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn’t. And Terry lived this mantra every day. And he’d be the first to tell you with a big ‘ol grin on his face… a little extra work over the holiday does a body good!
